Nobel Prize in Chemistry Research Paper

You will write a 1-2 page report on a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Each student will select a different award. A sign-up sheet will be available on the door of my office. This paper should include the historic context of the discovery, information about the laurieats, outline the chemistry involved, and discuss the current significance of the work. You must use multiple resources and verify all information. Do not plagiarize. Do not copy and paste. Be careful that you don't just paraphrase your sources. You should be able to write the paper without continually referring to the reference. Set it aside and write from your head. That will ensure that the words are yours and that there is no confusion. It will also do a better job of showing how well you understand what you are writing about. When you keep the reference open and continually look at it while you write, you don't show what you know.

Some comments on the layout and format of the text include:

  1. Scientific writing should use short declarative sentences. Avoid wordy expressions like "a man by the name of Joe Smith" when you could just write "Joe Smith."
  2. Any paper where you expect to receive comments should be double spaced (that includes this paper). The standard layout is to have 1 inch margins and 12 point text. Times New Roman is the most common font, because it is easy to read. Think carefully before using a different font. Don't use the Courier font, it looks like you used an old typewriter.
  3. Typesetting
    1. Use leading zero's with numbers to avoid confusing periods with decimal points. For example use 0.45, not .45.
    2. Use superscripts and subscripts as needed. In most word processing programs they are listed as options for the font setting. Exponents should look like 105, and chemical formulas should look like C2H6.
    3. Use tables when appropriate, use the table feature in your word processor.
    4. References in the text should be indicated with a superscript number and listed at the end of the paper. All information that is not common knowledge should be referenced. Anything in quotes MUST be referenced.
  4. Your word processor has a grammar checking feature, use it.
  5. Follow the standards for capitalization. Elements may be important, but they are not proper nouns. They should only be capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, or as appropriate for their abbreviation.
  6. Include a cover page with the title, your name, the date, the course, and the instructors name.
  7. Unless you consider yourself to be a very good writer, make an appointment with the writing center (x4332) to review your paper.
  8. Use S.I. Units. For additional details and information see NIST reference publications SI Units, Rules and style conventions Checklist, Special Publication 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI)
  9. Evaluate any web resources that you use for your paper. There is a big difference between the authority of a NASA web page, the web page developed by a research team that created an element, and the web page for a report by a grade school student. If you are going to use the web, you MUST evaluate your sources. A great place to learn more about this is Evaluating Web Resources by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate (from Wolfgram Library)
  10. Many of you refer to how hazardous an compound is. Do some background research on this by looking at the Material Safety Data Sheet. This is a brief summary of the hazard information for any material. These are readily available for most chemicals at the SIRI MSDS Site web site at the University of Vermont.
  11. References. There are a wide range of resources available for information about the prizes. They are not all equal. In scientific work, the most credible resource is the primary literature. This is where information is originally published and it is closely scrutinized during the peer review process. Then there are many specialized books that contain a wealth of information. There is also lots of information on the web, but try and find the most reputable sources. Government labs, trade groups, and academic labs are all useful. Although trade group web pages can be very useful, keep in mind that they have their own special interest. I am looking for more in depth resources than an encyclopedia. The best papers will have five or more high quality references from a mixture of sources (not just web based). Encyclopedia and poor quality web pages do not count.

    The standard reference formats for Chemistry, from The ACS Style Gude, are listed below.

    1. Books; Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Chapter Title. Book Title, Edition Number; Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publicaiton, Year; Volume Number; Pagenation.
    2. Articles; Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc.Abbreviation Year, Volume, Pagenation.
    3. Web Pages; Author (if any). Tile of Site. URL (accessed date), other identifying information)
    Examples include:
    1. Dodd, J. References. The ACS Style Guide, 2nd ed; American Chemical Society: Washington D.C., 1997; pp189-187.
    2. Van Bramer, S.E.; Johnston, M.V. Anal. Chem., 1990, 62, 2639-2643.
    3. Van Bramer, S.E. Chemistry 145 (Van Bramer), http://science.widener.edu/~svanbram/chem145/chem145.html (accessed November 18, 2002).
  12. Grading Criteria. The paper will be graded on the following
    1. Information (40%). The depth of your research. Although it is a short paper, you should find a number of interesting facts about the prize. Just tracking down the basics available in your textbook is not enough.
    2. Presentation (40%). This includes clear writing, thoughtful layout, and good organization.
    3. References (20%). The quality and number of resources that you use.
This page is maintained by
Scott Van Bramer
Department of Chemistry
Widener University
Chester, PA 19013

Please send any comments, corrections, or suggestions to svanbram@science.widener.edu.

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Last Updated 8/28/2006